-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- HTC 's new flagship smartphone , the One , is an impressive bit of hardware and a big step forward for the company in three significant ways .

The One is a top-notch , beautifully designed handset packed with the best specs and a ton of compelling features . It also runs a unique , fresh take on Google 's Android operating system . And it 's available in exactly the same configuration across the three major U.S. carriers . This is the phone that could close the gap between HTC 's flagship and those from Apple and Samsung .

We spent a couple of hours with the One before its big unveiling in New York today , and were thoroughly impressed by the luxurious materials used on the handset , the expert build quality holding it all together , and a slew of thoughtfully crafted software features . Although the phone carries the branding established last year with the One X , One S , and other HTC phones , the One amounts to a reboot of the company 's vision for Android . The One X , HTC 's previous flagship , won critical praise , but as an AT&T exclusive it failed to generate the sales the company had hoped for .

`` We think about the One X and we think ` Wow , it was big , and it was one of the best phones we 've ever done , ' '' Scott Croyle , HTC 's vice president of design , said . `` But if I were to compare it to , say , other stuff that was out there , I would n't say it was a step-change different . ''

The company set out to build a phone that could surpass , not just meet , the performance and quality of the Apple iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy SIII . So it put a huge effort into nailing the Sense user interface , packing the phone with the best tech and broadening its reach across carriers . Sense 4 , the previous generation of HTC 's Android customization , has been thrown out . Every aspect of Sense has been rethought and redesigned . The result is a slick , clean user interface , full of artful icons that match the flat , understated look Google has been trying to push with its own stock version of Android . And there 's a focus in the new Sense on making things that users commonly do easier and more intuitive -- such as sifting through social media and news apps , or snapping photos and video .

`` I think we came to this recognition that , ` Wow , there are these two other companies that are going to spend a lot more money than HTC , ' '' Croyle said . `` This is the reality of the business . They have much deeper pockets and they can carpet bomb the industry and they have a tremendous amount of inertia there , particularly with Apple in the U.S. So , for the One , we really had to get it right , we really had to just go for it . ''

While it 's easy to see the chamfered edges found on the One and think of the iPhone 5 , the One is far from a copycat product . It has a massive -- and gorgeous -- 4.7-inch 1080p display with a pixel density of 468 pixels per inch . As with nearly every flagship phone out there nowadays , pixels are indiscernible on the One 's generous display . Colors look vivid and crisp as well .

The touchscreen dominates the front of the One , with aluminum capping each end . Rows of pinholes are machined into each strip of aluminum , serving as pathways for sound coming from a set of dual front-facing speakers . Every phone speaker we 've ever heard has sounded like hell . While the One wo n't replace your Jambox anytime soon , its onboard speakers sound immensely better than anything we 've heard from a phone . Inside , the One features a 1.7 GHz , quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU , 2GB of RAM , and NFC chip , Bluetooth 4.0 and connectivity to both HSPA and LTE networks .

Everything is packed into a sleek , aluminum unibody -- shipping in either silver or black -- that features a subtly curved back with inlaid antennas . The One weighs 5.04 ounces , and is just 0.36 inches thick .

The One will also sports a beefed up camera , with a ton of photo and video features -- which are so plentiful we 've written a separate story focusing on the One 's camera .

Along with all new hardware , HTC is using the One to introduce an all new take on Android . Sense 4 , HTC 's last skin , was among the best versions of Google 's mobile OS thanks to its simplicity and gimmick-free implementation . The latest version -- now just called Sense -- brings users from a lock screen to a new Flipboard-like app called BlinkFeed , which displays a feed of information , stories , photos and video from various sources of your choosing . HTC has worked in integration with a few news outlets , so news stories by topic or by outlet can show up in your BlinkFeed . And the app can be connected to Twitter , Facebook , Flickr and other social networks as well .

See a news story you 're interested in reading ? Just tap the tile in your feed and you 're taken to a view that shows the story and its accompanying artwork in a presentation that makes reading clean and easy -- again , very much like Flipboard , Pocket , Pulse and other `` read it later '' services . Tap a tweet or post from Facebook you 'll be launched into that corresponding social network 's Android app . You can even set up BlinkFeed to pipe in your photos and videos . Everything is displayed in reverse chronological order , just like your Twitter timeline , Facebook feed and everything else that 's sorted online .

While BlinkFeed is a pre-installed app , it 's also the default view any One user will see once they unlock their phone . If you want to get to a traditional Android homescreen view -- with apps , widgets and folders of apps -- just swipe in from the right on BlinkFeed and Android as you know it will appear .

`` If you want regular Android , it 's there , '' Croyle said . `` But , everybody 's snacking on information , whether it 's from their social networks or some news source that they 're just interested in . So -LSB- BlinkFeed -RSB- really is geared around that recognition of how people are actually using their phones . ''

AT&T , Sprint and T-Mobile will sell the One , along with many smaller regional telecom companies . The significance of this ca n't be overstated . Currently , only Apple 's iPhone and Samsung 's Galaxy S III are offered as widely . The iPhone is sold through AT&T , Sprint and Verizion -- and it 's on it 's way to T-Mobile . The S III is sold by all four of the nation 's top carriers . All too often , a great phone , like last year 's One X , was confined to a limited audience due to carriers wanting exclusive rights to phones .

The fact that the One is joining it 's biggest rivals in a new paradigm that bucks the idea of exclusive phones is a good thing for HTC -- because they get to sell their best device in more places -- and consumers -- because you have more choice when you go to buy your next phone .

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HTC 's One phone could be the one that closes the gap with Apple and Samsung

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The One , unveiled Tuesday , has a massive 4.7-inch touchscreen display

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It 's camera ignores sometimes-meaningless megapixel count for `` UltraPixels ''

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The One will be available on AT&T , T-Mobile and Sprint